Elijah Wood: Hollywood Protecting Criminals

By: Katrina Manning | May 23, 2016

Elijah Wood, who starred as Frodo in the Lord of the Rings spoke with The Sunday Times about sexual abuse in Hollywood. He said that it is "probably still happening" to child actors. The Goonies actor Corey Feldman, 44--said he was "surrounded" by molesters when he was a teenager. In addition, a few figures have already been convicted, released from jail and returned to working with children in Hollywood. Anne Henry, co-founder of Bizparentz--a group to help young actors--said that Hollywood is currently sheltering around "100 active abusers." Wood shared that his mother protected him from the abuse when he started working in Hollywood at age eight.

Wood explained, "I've been led down dark paths to realize that these things are probably still happening." He continued, "If you're innocent, you have very little knowledge of the world and you want to succeed. People with parasitic interests will see you as prey. What upsets me about these situations is that the victims can't speak as loudly as the people in power." He also talked to The Sunday Times about Jimmy Savile, a British entertainer who sexually abused dozens of victims during his five decades in the industry. There were allegations of a cover-up by government figures and broadcasting chiefs. He was knighted by the Queen. His crimes were only shared posthumously.

Henry shared, "The probably has been endemic in Hollywood for a long time and it's finally coming to light. Very bad people are still working here, protected by their friends." Wood stated, "There are a lot of vipers in this industry. There is a darkness in the underbelly--if you can imagine it, it's probably happened." Feldman has said, "The No 1 problem in Hollywood was and is--and always will be--pedophilia." Moreover, child actors revealed that they were told it was normal for older men to have sexual relations with younger boys. Feldman says abusers are some of the richest and most powerful in Hollywood. During the late 1990s, lawsuits were filed against millionaire businessman Marc Collins-Rector. They claim that Collins-Rector and other men sexually abused teenage boys.